In the storage of produce in a refrigerator the material is generally kept in a drawer that is specified for vegetables or fruit. The drawer, generally having a sealing strip, provides separation from the usual drying atmosphere of a frost free refrigerator. However, there are continuing problems with the keeping of fruit and vegetables in such drawers. Some vegetables and fruit give off water that will condense in the drawer and lead to rotting of the vegetables, and the growth of molds or other fungi on the fruits and vegetables, if the humidity is too high. In other instances, the drawer will develop low humidity, as in the rest of the refrigerator, and not maintain a high enough humidity to prevent fruit and vegetables from drying out.
Another difficulty with the storage of fruits and vegetables in a drawer is that many of them give off ethylene when ripening. Fruits such as bananas, apples, avocados, and pears, give off ethylene at fairly high rate. Many other vegetables also give off ethylene, at a lower rate. This ethylene can lead to rapid ripening of these fruits and others that are stored in the same produce container or drawer. This rapid ripening will actually hasten the rotting process, which any increase in moisture will spur.
There remains a need for a way of better keeping vegetables and fruits from spoiling while stored in a refrigerator, particularly in the produce drawer. It would be desired to maintain the humidity within the drawer in a desired range. It would be desirable if there was a way to control humidity in a produce drawer and also to control other undesirable things that can happen to produce in the drawer, such as rapid ripening, spoilage, and smelling.